HOLOPHONY by TELEKINETT / MAURICIO REYES

After the success of his debut album Música Metaphysica, electro-acoustic musician Robol has now released Holophony. His second studio album, Holophony was composed, engineered and performed by Robol at the Telekinett Station in Virginia, USA, using holophonics, which was created by Argentinian inventor Hugo Zuccarelli in 1980 during his studies at the Politecnico di Milano University in 1983. (1)

Holophony is a careful mixture of field recordings and multi-layered sound patterns recorded at various frequencies targeting the audio alpha activity of the brain. Studies conducted under test conditions and supervision concluded that while listening to music, subjects have a significant decrease in alpha wave power as well as an increase in beta wave power. The audio sensory stimulus induced by Holophony can also cause an increase in heart rate and respiration, producing a calming effect on the physiological processes.

The human auditory system is a sound emitter, producing a reference sound that combines with incoming sound to form an interference pattern inside the ear. The nature of this pattern is sensitive to the direction of the incoming sound. According to this hypothesis, the cochlea detects and analyzes this pattern as if it were an acoustic hologram. The brain then interprets this data and infers the direction of the sound.

Holophony utilizes the placement of two microphones in the location that a listener’s ears would normally be (also known as a binaural recording). When the sound is played through headphones, the user experiences the sensation of being there. The brain decodes the delay of sound from one microphone to the other and off surfaces and objects. Not only is the sound left and right dependent, but also front, back, up and down. The direction of every sound is carefully decoded by the brain to determine where the sound originated.  

The space in which the sound is recorded also plays a major role. A small room will not have the same sound as a large open area. Walls will reflect sound differently from trees. Every location has its own qualities. By closing one’s eyes, it is possible to place oneself where the recording took place. (2)

This recording is dedicated to Hans Berger, the German psychiatrist best known as the inventor of Electroencephalography (EEG), or the recording of brain waves, in 1924.

Sources: (1) and (2): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holophonics

Mauricio Reyes is a futurist, composer and audio researcher focused on experimental, electronic, and electroacoustic practices.

Founder of Telekinett Records (2004–2008), a label dedicated to atonal and exploratory sound, he investigates signal behavior, noise systems, and spatial perception through granular synthesis, tape manipulation, spectral analysis, and circuit experimentation.